Unit 5 Huó dào lǎo, xué dào lǎo, hái yǒu sān fēn xuébudào! live to old-age, study to old-age, still have 3 parts [of 10] study-not-reach Said of a difficult course of study like learning Chinese. Contents 5.1 Tone contrasts 5.2 Or Exercise 1 5.3 At the beginning of class 5.4 Food (2) Exercise 2 5.5 Expanding the V+de construction Exercise 3 5.6 Talking to children Exercise 4 5.7 Music and musicians Exercise 5 5.8 Verbs of cognition Exercise 6 5.9 Destination Exercise 7 5.10 Purpose 5.11 In the past Exercise 8 5.12 And 5.13 Sports and scores Exercise 9 5.14 Dialogue: Who won? Exercise 10 5.15 Pronunciation 5.16 Summary 5.17 Rhymes and rhythms 5.1 Tone contrasts In reading the follow sets aloud, focus on the tones, as well as the occasional tone shifts: a) Fēicháng mēn. b) Mēn jíle. c) Yǒu yìdiănr mēn. Fēicháng máng. Máng jíle. Yǒu yìdiănr máng. Fēicháng lěng. Lěng jíle. Yǒu yìdiănr lěng. Fēicháng rè. Rè jíle. Yǒu yìdiănr guì. d) Juéde hĕn mēn. e) Mēn-sǐle. f) Hăo mēn a! Juéde hĕn nán. Máng-sǐle. Hăo máng a! Juéde hĕn lěng. Lěng-sǐle. Hăo lěng a! Juéde hĕn lèi. Rè-sǐle. Hăo guì a! Notes a) Mēn stuffy; close ; cf. mēnrè muggy b) Sǐ to die ; SV-sǐle SV to death, ie extremely ; perhaps more used by female speakers. c) Hăo can function as an adverb with SVs, meaning very; so. 177
5.2 Or 5.2.1 Vocabulary First some pairs of words (some of which have appeared earlier), and some verbs: nouns nánde nánrén nánzǐ nánháizi ~ háir nǚde nǚrén nǚzǐ nǚháizi ~ háir males men man; male boys females women woman; female girls Zhōngguó cài wàiguó cài Kěkǒukělè Bǎishìkělè palatable-pleasant 100-things-pleasant Chinese food foreign food Coca Cola Pepsi Cola yánjiūshēng běnkēshēng kuàizi dāochā research-student root-categ.-student grad. student undergraduate chopsticks knife and fork verbs zhǎo yào qù xǐhuan yòng děi look for want go [to] like; prefer use must; have to 5.2.2 The two or s In English, or sometimes has an inclusive meaning similar to and : I drink tea or coffee in the morning, beer in the evening. / Good for you! Do you have any classes on Saturday or Sunday? / No, none. However, or in English also appears in disjunctive questions, where it links alternatives. In the latter case, or can be followed by a distinct pause: Will you have tea or coffee? / Tea please. Are you in the morning class or the afternoon? / The afternoon. In Chinese, the two ors, the inclusive, and the disjunctive, are expressed differently. The first is expressed with huòzhě (or huòshi or simply huò). As a conjunction, it can appear between nouns or nounphrases: Jīntiān huòzhě míngtiān dōu xíng. Bǎishìkělè huò kěkǒukělè dōu kěyǐ. Wǒ zǎoshàng hē chá huòzhě kāfēi, wǎnshàng hē píjiǔ. Today or tomorrow are both okay. Pepsi or Coke, either one is fine. Mornings I drink tea or coffee, evenings I drink beer! 178
The second or the alternative or, which is typically (but not exclusively) found in questions is expressed with háishi (which in other contexts, means still ). Unlike huòzhě, háishi is an adverb, so it needs to be followed by a verb (as in ii below). However, where the verb would otherwise be shì (see i below), háishi alone suffices *háishi shì does not occur. i. Tā shi Měiguórén háishi Zhōngguórén? Is she American or Chinese? Yĕxŭ shi Mĕiguórén. Probably American. Shi nĭ de háishi tā de? Dāngrán shi tā de, wŏ nǎlǐ huì yǒu zhème nánkàn de xiézi?! Nĭ shi bĕnkēshēng háishi yánjiūshēng? Wŏ shi èrniánjí de yánjiūshēng. Sì ge háizi? Shi nánháir háishi nǚháir? Dōu shi nǚháir! Are [these] yours or his [shoes]? His of course, how[on earth] would I have such awful looking shoes? Are you an undergraduate or a graduate? I m a 2nd year grad. 4 children? Are [they] boys or girls? [They] re all girls! ii. Hē chá háishi hē kāfēi? [You drinking] tea or coffee? Chá hăo, xièxie. Tea ll be fine, thanks. Yào chī Zhōngguó cài háishi chī wàiguó cài? Wŏmen zài Zhōngguó yīnggāi chī Zhōngguó cài! Nĭmen qù Bĕijīng háishi qù Shànghăi? Xiān qù Bĕijīng. Zhǎo Wèi lăoshī háishi zhǎo Zhāng lăoshī? Zhǎo Zhāng lăoshī. Nà, chīfàn, nĭmen xĭhuan hē píjiŭ háishi hē qìshuǐ? Wŏmen bĭjiào xĭhuān hē chá. Chīfàn, nǐ píngcháng yòng kuàizi háishi yòng dāochā? Zài Zhōngguó, wǒ dāngrán yòng kuàizi, kěshi zài zhèr, píngcháng dōu yòng dāochā. Do [you] want to eat Chinese food or foreign food? We re in China [so we] should eat Chinese food! Are you going to Beijing or Shanghai? First to Beijing. Are you looking for Prof. Wei or Prof. Zhang? [I] m looking for Prof. Zhang. So, [with] a meal, do you prefer to drink beer or soda? We d rather drink tea. [When] eating, do you usually use chopsticks or knife and fork? In China, I use chopsticks of course, but here, I usually use a knife and fork. 179
Guìlín shi zài nánbiānr háishi zài bĕibiānr? Guìlín zài Guǎngxī, zài nánbiānr. Is Guilin in the south or the north? Guilin s in Guangxi, in the south. The response to an or question may include a list of items. These may be juxtaposed, or they may be explicitly linked with huòzhě ~ huòshi ~ huò: Chá kāfēi dōu xíng. Chá huòzhě kāfēi dōu xíng. Lǐbàisān lǐbàisì dōu kěyǐ. Lǐbàisān huò lǐbàisì dōu kěyǐ. Tea or coffee are both fine. Either tea or coffee will be fine. Wednesday or Thursday are both possible. Either Wednesday or Thursday is fine. Exercise 1. Paraphrase in Chinese: 1. Are you in the morning class or the afternoon? 2. Are you going today or tomorrow? 3. Either Coke or Pepsi is fine it doesn t matter. 4. Do Koreans drink coffee or tea in the morning? 5. Do you want to have a boy or a girl? 6. Do you prefer coffee or tea with breakfast. / Usually either is fine, but today I m tired, [so] I ll have coffee. 7. Are you in school, or working? I was in school, but now I m working. 5.3 At the beginning of class To show respect, students quite naturally stand when the teacher enters and greet him or her appropriately: Wèi lǎoshī, hǎo. Then still standing, Wèi lǎoshī asks for a count off: yī, èr, sān, sì. And the conversation under 5.3.1 below ensues. But first, some more vocabulary: shuāngshù even number bànr partner; mate dàjiā everyone (large family) dānshù odd number zuò bànr act as partner zěnme bàn what to do (how manage) Notes a) Shuāng means a pair, also used as an M in eg yì shuāng kuàizi a pair of chopsticks ; dān a unit ; shù shi shùxué de shù. c) Bànr partner (a noun) is etymologically related to bàn half ; however, it is not related to the homophonous bàn do; manage (a verb), as in zěnme bàn. 180
5.3.1 Dialogues: At the beginning of class lăoshī xuésheng i. Jīntiān yígòng yǒu duōshao xuésheng? Yǒu èrshísì ge. Jǐ ge nánde, jǐ ge nǚde? Èrshísì shi shuāngshù háishi dānshù? Dānshù hăo háishi shuāngshù hăo? Wèishénme? Shí ge nánde, shísì ge nǚde. Shi shuāngshù. Shuāngshù hăo. Yīnwèi shuāngshù, dàjiā dōu yǒu bànr. lăoshī > xuéshēng ii. Jīntiān yígòng yǒu duōshao xuéshēng? Yǒu shíjiǔ ge. Shíjiǔ shi shuāngshù háishi dānshù? Shi dānshù hăo háishi shuāngshù hăo? Wèishénme dānshù bù hăo. Nà, zĕnme bàn? Shi dānshù. Shuāngshù hăo. Yīnwèi dānshù, yí ge rén méiyou bànr. Méi guānxi, Wèi lăoshī kĕyĭ zuò bànr. Duōshao nánde, duōshao nǚde? [JKW 1982] 181
5.4 Food (2) The Unit 4 introduced staples and other basic categories of food (miàntiáo, mǐfěn, tāng) and some common meats and vegetables (niúròu, xiārénr, dòufu). The next step is to try to collate these ingredients and name the dishes accordingly. Typically, this will mean combining a meat or vegetable or both with a basic category of food. Ordering in this way will not always result in a well formed menu item, for names can be idiosyncratic; but it should allow you to get meals with the ingredients you want while you continue to gain experience. In real life, it may be clearer to state the category first, then repeat it with the ingredients: chǎomiàn, chāshāo-chǎomiàn; tāng, dòufu-tāng. Recall that some of the basic food names lose syllables in combination: bāozi > chāshāobāo rather than chāshāobāozi. The basic categories of food from Unit 4: (a) fàn, chǎofàn, mĭfĕn, miàn, chăomiàn, tāng, tāngmiàn, jiăozi, bāozi, zhōu ~ xīfàn (b) zhūròu, niúròu, yángròu, yā, jī, jīdàn, yú, xiārénr, dòufu Containers (M-words): Other items: yì wǎn niúròu-tāng liǎng pán<r> xiārénr-chǎofàn yì lóng ~ yì jīn bāozi 1 bowl beef soup 2 plate shrimp fried rice 1 steamer ~ 1 catty bao a bowl of beef soup 2 plates of shrimp fried rice a basket ~ a catty of bao yúpiàn ròusī báicài jiǔcài shícài fish slices pork shreds white veg seasonal slices of fish shredded pork cabbage scallions vegetables gālí chāshāo zhájiàng shuǐjiǎo curry roast [pork] fried bean sauce boiled dumplings [Cantonese] Models: a) xiārénr, dòufu, tāngmiàn, yì wǎn bowl of shrimp beancurd noodle soup ~ yì wǎn xiārénr-dòufu-tāngmiàn b) bāozi, zhūròu, jiǔcài, yì lóng a steamer of pork scallion steamed buns ~ zhūròu-jiǔcài-bāo<zi>, yì lóng Some typical dishes: niúròu-miàn ròusī-chăomiàn niúròu-tāngmiàn gālí-fàn jīdàn-chăofàn beef noodles shredded pork and fried noodles beef noodle in soup curry and rice egg and fried rice 182
niúròu-chǎofěn (~ -chǎomǐfěn) jī-zhōu qīngcài-tāng jiǔcài-shuǐjiǎo (~ jiǔcài jiăozi) chāshāo-bāo zhájiàng-miàn beef and fried rice-noodles chicken congee vegetable soup leek dumplings roast pork buns noodles with fried bean sauce (and pork) Exercise 2 Try ordering the following: 1. a plate of curried fried rice. 2. a bowl of congee with fish slices. 3. a plate of roast pork and noodles; another of roast pork and fried noodles. 4. 2 bowls of cabbage and shredded pork soup. 5. a plate of beef with rice-noodles. 6. a bowl of toufu soup. 7. a steamer of cabbage and lamb dumplings 8. a plate of cabbage, shrimp and rice-noodles. 9. a bowl of shrimp and noodles in soup. 10. a plate of noodles with mixed ingredients. 5.4.1 Dialogue: ordering dishes F is a fúwùyuán ( a waiter ); G are four customers (gùkè) having dinner. Normally, the process of figuring out what to order would involve a perfunctory examination of the menu followed by discussion with the waiter about the specialties of the house, the types of fish in stock, what vegetables are fresh, etc. These customers have already decided what they want. They order the dishes by name rather than taking the descriptive approach seen in the last section. 183
F. Yào chī shénme? What ll [you] have? G. Yào yí ge yúxiāng-qiézi, [We] ll have a fish-fragrant eggplant, yí ge shāo èrdōng, [and] a cooked two-winter ; a yí ge huíguōròu, yí ge sùshíjǐn, double-cooked pork ; a mixed vegetables, zài yào yí ge suānlàtāng. and also a hot and sour soup. F. Suānlàtāng nǐ yào dàwǎn háishi [For] the hot and sour soup, do you xiǎowǎn? want a big bowl or a little bowl? G. Dàwǎn duō dà? How big s the big bowl? F. Liù ge rén hē! [Enough] for 6 [to drink]! G. Hǎo, yào dà de. Okay, a big one. F. Hē shénme? Hē yǐnliào háishi What ll [you] have to drink? A beverage hē píjiǔ? or beer? G. Chá jiù kěyǐ. Lǜchá. Tea ll be fine. Green tea. F. Hǎo, sì ge cài, yí ge tāng: Okay, 4 dishes and a soup: yúxiāng-qiézi, shāo èrdōng, fish-flavor eggplant ; cooked 2 winter, huíguōròu, sùshíjǐn; dàwǎn double-cooked pork; mixed vegetables suānlàtāng. and a large bowl of hot and sour soup. G. Hái yào báifàn. And rice. F. Dàwǎn ma. A big bowl. G. Kěyǐ. That s fine. Notes food. shāo èrdōng huíguōròu sù shíjǐn zài yào yǐnliào báifàn (cooked-2-winter) A vegetarian dish consisting of two winter vegetables such as dōnggū dried mushrooms or dōngsǔn winter bamboo shoots. (return to-pan-pork), ie double-cooked pork plain; simple; vegetarian. Cf. chī sù ~ chi zhai eat vegetarian N assortment of ; sùshíjǐn assorted vegetables zài again, but here, in addition. N drink-material refers to non-alcoholic beverages but not tea. In China, rice is often ordered by the liǎng ounce. 184
5.5.1 Vocabulary 5.5 Expanding the V+de construction V+O chàng[gē] xiĕ[zì] shuō[huà] zuò[fàn] sing [songs] write [characters] say [speech] make [food] sing write speak; talk cook N Yīngyǔ Hànyŭ Zhōngguó huà SV biāozhŭn English Chinese language Chinese speech be proper; correct; standard Notes a) Like chīfàn, when no other object is present or can be provided from the context, the verbs in the top row usually appear with the generic objects indicated in brackets. b) Zuòfàn cook. In the south, zhǔfàn boil-food and shāofàn heat-food are also used for cook. 5.5.2 Commenting on abilities Recall the earlier examples of the V+de construction: Nĭ shuō+de hĕn hăo. Nĭ jiǎng+de bú cuò. You speak very well You speak pretty well. Nothing can intervene between the verb, shuō and +de, so an object has to be mentioned first, either alone, or with repetition of the verb: Nĭ Zhōngwén shuō+de hĕn biāozhŭn. Nĭ jiǎng Zhōngwén, jiāng+de hǎo-jíle. Nĭ Hànyŭ shuō+de fēicháng hǎo. Zhōngguó huà jiǎng+de hĕn biāozhŭn. The same construction can be applied to other verbs: Hànzì xiě+de hĕn hăo. Nǎlǐ, xiě+de bù hǎo. Tā chàng+de hĕn hăo. Tā chàng+de bú tài hăo. Ta chànggē chàng+de zĕnmeyàng? Wŏ zuòfàn zuò+de hĕn chà. Nĭ zuò+de bú cuò! Wǒ xǐhuan chànggē, dànshì chàng+de bù hǎo. You write characters well. Nah, I don t write well. She sings well. He doesn t sing very well. How does he sing? I m a terrible cook. You cook pretty well. I like to sing, but I don t sing well. 185
Nǐ tài kèqi, nǐ chàng+de bú cuò! Wǒ xǐhuan zuòfàn kěshi zuò+de bù hǎo. You re too modest, you sing well. I like to cook, but I don t cook well. Méi guānxi, wǒmen qù fànguǎnr chīfàn ba, Never mind, let s go to a restaurant - wǒ qǐngkè. I ll treat. 5.5.3 Huì be able ; yìdiǎn<r> a bit The response to someone praising your language ability is the modest: Nǎlǐ, nălĭ <shuō+de bù hăo>. To this you can add a sentence with the modal verb huì be able to [of learned abilities] : Wǒ zhǐ huì shuō yìdiǎnr. Wǒ zhǐ huì shuō yìdiǎndiǎn. I only speak a little. I speak very little! Yìdiǎnr a bit; a little can appear between an action verb and its object: Wŏmen chī yìdiănr fàn, hăo bu hao? Hē yìdiănr qìshuǐ ba. Zài zhèr kĕyĭ mǎi yìdiănr dōngxi. Let s have a bit to eat, okay? Have a soft drink. You can do a bit of shopping here. Contrast the use of yìdiǎnr directly after a verb (as part of the object) with the yǒu yìdiǎnr pattern, that precedes SVs: V yìdiănr O Hē yìdiănr chá ba. Subject yǒu yìdiănr SV Zhè chá yǒu yìdiănr kǔ. Why don t you have some tea. This tea s a little bitter. 5.5.4 Huì, néng ( ~ nénggòu), kěyǐ and xíng You have encountered a number of verbs all having to do with ability. Although usage varies between regions, particularly between the Mainland and Taiwan, the basic differences are illustrated below. a) huì know how to; can, typically used for learned abilities Wǒ bú huì jiǎng Shànghǎihuà. [I] can t speak Shanghainese. know about; be good at, ie used as a main verb Tā huì hěn duō shǎoshù mínzú de yǔyán. She speaks a lot of languages of minority peoples. 186
possibility (often with a final emphatic-de ) Jīntiān bú huì hěn lěng. Bú huì de ba! Tāmen huì yíng de! It won t be too cold today. No way! They re bound to win! b) néng ~ nénggòu: capable of; can (ranging from physical ability to permission) Néng qù ma? Wǒ bù néng hē báijiǔ. Míngtiān wǒ bù néng lái shàngkè. Néng děng yixià ma? Néng hē yì jīn, hē bā liǎng. duìbuqǐ rénmín, duìbuqǐ dǎng. Can you go? I can t drink white spirits. I can t come to class tomorrow. Can you wait a bit? [If] you can drink a jin [but] only drink 8 ounces, you won t be able to face the people, you won t be able to face the party! c) kěyǐ all right to; can (ranging from possibility to permission) Kěyǐ jìnqu ma? Kě bu kěyǐ mǎi bàn ge? Túshūguǎn <lǐ> bù kěyǐ shuōhuà. Can [we] go in? Can [one] buy a half? [You] not supposed to talk in the library. d) xíng be okay; to do; to work Xíng has a meaning similar to kěyǐ or néng, but its grammatical behavior is different. Xíng is not a modal verb (ie cannot be followed by another verb); it is an ordinary verb that appears in predicate position (at the foot of the sentence). Qǐngkè chīfàn méi jiŭ bù xíng. Cf. Chīfàn bù néng méi jiŭ. Xué Zhōngwén méiyou lăoshī xíng ma? Cf. Xué Zhōngwén méiyou lăoshī, kĕyĭ ma? You can t invite guests for a meal without [having] wine. Can you study Chinese without a teacher? As the previous examples show, the expression bù xíng often corresponds to without in English. Qǐngkè chīfàn méi yú bù xíng. Having guests for a meal without [serving] fish won t do! Zài Mĕiguó chīfàn méi miànbāo bù xíng. In the US, you can t have a meal without bread. Zài Făguó chīfàn méi jiŭ bù xíng. In France, you can t have a meal without wine. 187
Zài Tàiguó chīfàn méi làjiāo bù xíng. Qù lǚxíng méi dìtú bù xíng. Guò shēngrì méi dàngāo bù xíng. Kàn yùndònghuì méi píjǐu bù xíng. Méi jiǔ méi yú bù chéng xí. In Thailand, you can t have a meal without chillies. You can t go traveling without a map. You can t have a birthday without a cake. You can t watch a sporting event without beer! It takes wine and fish to make a feast! [A saying: chéng xí become feast ] Exercise 3. Paraphrase in Chinese: 1. She speaks very good Chinese. 2. I m a lousy cook, but I love to eat Chinese food. 3. She speaks [Chinese] quite well, but she doesn t write very well. 4. You sing well. / Nah, not so well! 5. You speak [Chinese] very well. / No, I only speak a little! 6. Have some tea. / Thanks.This is great what kind is it? 7. I find coffee a little bitter; I prefer tea. 8. You can t shop without money. 9. You can t eat Chinese food without chopsticks. (kuàizi chopsticks ) 10. You can t drink coffee without milk. 11. You can t drink beer without peanuts! (huāshēng peanuts Xiǎo péngyou, nǐ hǎo. [JKW 1997] 188
5.6 Talking to children In China, you will find yourself in situations where you have to talk to children. In the following dialogue, you strike up a conversation with the 5 year old child of some Chinese friends. You may have heard the name, but you can t recall it, so you begin as follows: Dà Xiǎo péngyou, nǐ hǎo. Hi, little friend. Xiǎo (to female) Āyí hǎo. Hello, auntie. (to male) Shūshu, hǎo. Hello, uncle. Dà Xiǎo péngyou chī shénme ne? What are [you] eating? Xiǎo Chī táng ne. Candy. Dà Hǎochī ma? Is it good? Xiăo. Hăochī. Gĕi shūshu yì kē, hăo bu hao? Yes. [I] ll give one to uncle, okay? Dà O, xièxie. Xiăo péngyou xĭhuan Ah, thank you. Do you like to sing? chànggē ma? Xiăo Xĭhuan. I do. Dà Xĭhuan chàng shénme gē? What song do you like to sing? Xiăo Zài xuéxiào wŏmen chàng Wŏmen At school we sing We re the ones shi Gòngchǎn-zhǔyì jiēbānrén. who uphold Communism! Dà Èi, hăo gē! Kĕyĭ gĕi wŏ chàngchang ma? Hey, nice song! Can you sing it for (~ Kĕyĭ chàng gĕi wŏ tīngting ma?) me? (~ Can you let me hear it?) Xiăo Wŏmen shi Gòngchǎn-zhǔyì jiēbānrén. Dà Ng, nĭ chàng+de hĕn hăo. You sing well! Xiăo Chàng+de bù hăo! No I don t. Dà Hǎo, xiǎo péngyou, zàijiàn. Okay, goodbye. Xiǎo Āyí / Shūshu zàijiàn. Bye auntie/uncle. Dà Zhēn kě'ài! Cute! 189
Notes: chī...ne: the final ne conveys a tone of engagement or concern that is associated with on-going actions otherwise marked with zài (cf. 4.7.4). táng cf. tāng soup ( soups stays level, sugar raises the pulse ). kē a M for beads, beans, pearls and even meteors and satellites. Wǒmen shi S/he actually cites the first line. The title is Zhōngguó shàonián xiānfēngduì gē, ie Song of the Chinese Young Pioneers. Nowadays, children have a less interesting repertoire of songs. gòngchǎn communist, literally common-production. -zhǔyì corresponds to English ism ; zīběn-zhǔyì capitalism ; kǒngbùzhǔyì terrorism. jiēbānrén successor, literally, meet-duty-person. gěi Root meaning give, but also for ; cf. 5.6.1 directly below. chàngchang Repetition of the verb (without tone) takes the edge off the request: sing a little; just sing me a bit. zhēn adverb really; truly ; cp. zhēn yǒuyìsi really interesting and zhēn bàng really super. kě'ài capable-love ; cf. kěpà frightening and kěchī edible. 5.6.1 Verbs, coverbs, and serialization jiāoshū gàosu mǎi mài wèn wèntí teach-books teach tell buy sell ask a question dǎ diànhuà sòng shì<qing> hit telephone present s/t to s/o; to telephone escort s/o s/w things [to do] Notes a) Jiāoshū teach, with the generic object shū present when no other object is cited; jiāoshū but jiāo Zhōngwén teach Chinese. Contrast jiāo teach with the three distinct falling toned jiàos: jiào be named; call, bǐjiào, shuìjiào. b) Wèn ask a question but qǐng ask a favor. c) Sòng parallels gěi in meaning give [as a present] ; it also means to see someone off : sòng tā qù jīchǎng. Sòng and gěi also combine in the compound verb sònggei send, present to, illustrated in later units. d) Dōngxi are physical things, shì<qing>, abstract items of business. The dialogue with the child in the previous section presents an opportunity to introduce several functions (or meanings) of gěi. 190
a) Gěi as a main verb. Along with a number of other verbs involving transactions, gěi can take two objects, one that refers to the item transferred (the direct object DO) and the other, to the person who gains it (the indirect object IO). gĕi tā yí ge lĭwù give her a present sòng tā yí ge lĭwù present him with a gift jiāo tāmen Zhōngwén teach them Chinese wèn tā yí ge wèntí ask her a question gàosu tā yí jiàn shìqing tell him something The same pattern is common in English: V IO [person] DO [thing] give them an opera mask teach them Chinese opera buy her a ticket sell him your robes But the pattern should not be extended on the basis of English. For example, mǎi buy, which allows two objects in English ( buy her a ticket ), requires a different pattern in Chinese, introduced in (c) below. There are other differences, too. In English teach and tell can occur with single objects, but not give ; in Chinese all three can occur with a single object: Wǒ jiāo tāmen. I teach them; I m their teacher. Bié gàosu tā. Don t tell him. But Wǒ gěi nǐ. I give [it] [to] you; it s yours! b) Gěi as a co-verb meaning for [the benefit of]. In Unit 4, you encountered the phrase gěi nǐ jièshao jièshao introduce you to, or more literally introduce [someone] for you. The main verb is jièshao; gěi precedes it, with the meaning for your benefit rather than give. Similarly gěi wǒ chàngchang in the previous dialogue involves gěi functioning as a co-verb. Here are some typical examples notice that gěi in its CV function always precedes the main verb. Wǒ gěi nǐ zuò ba! Míngtiān gěi nǐ dǎ ge diànhuà, hǎo bu hao? Wǒ gěi nǐ xiě. Wǒ gěi tā mǎi dōngxi, tā gěi wǒ zuòfàn. I ll do it for you, okay? [I] ll phone you tomorrow, okay? I ll write it for you. I shop for her, and she cooks for me. 191
c) Gěi as the second verb in a series. As noted above, mǎi buy does not permit the (a) pattern, with two objects. Instead the purpose of the transaction has to be expressed by adding a phrase introduce by gěi: mǎi lǐwù gěi tā buy present give her buy her a present The two verbs, mǎi and gěi, appear sequentially buy and give in a relationship that is sometimes called serialization. Here is a short dialogue that contrasts the coverb (b) and serialization patterns (c): Jiǎ Míngtiān shi tā de shēngrì; Tomorrow s her birthday; wŏmen yīnggāi mǎi yí ge we should buy her a present. lĭwù gĕi tā. Yǐ Mǎi shénme lĭwù? What [sort] of present? Jiǎ Tā shi wàiguó lái de; mǎi She s a foreigner; how about we ge xiăo jìniànpǐn gĕi tā, buy her a small memento? ( buy a zĕnmeyàng? small memento to give to her ) Yǐ Bú cuò, wŏ kĕyĭ gĕi nĭ mǎi! Okay, I ll buy [it] for you. Serialization is quite versatile in Chinese. When the adult in dialogue 5.6 asked the child to sing the song for him, he used sentence (a) below, with a co-verb construction to indicate that he would benefit from the action ( sing for me ); but as noted, he could also have said sentence (b), using a serialization to emphasize the purpose or result ( sing so I hear ). In the latter case, gĕi might be translated as let or allow. co-verb (a) Kěyǐ gěi wǒ chàngchang ma? Can you sing [it] for me? serialization (b) Kěyǐ chàng gěi wǒ tīngting ma? Can you let me hear [it]? There are other cases in which both a co-verb construction and a serialization are possible: co-verb Wǒ gěi nǐ dǎ diànhuà, hǎo bu hǎo? I ll phone you, okay? serialization Wǒ dǎ diànhuà gěi nǐ, hǎo bu hǎo? I ll phone you, okay? 192
Exercise 4 Compose a Chinese conversation based on the English: She s leaving (líkāi) Hong Kong next week (xià ge xīngqi). We should give her a memento. / Yes, we should buy her something. / What do you suggest? / How about a seal [chop]? (túzhāng) / She probably already has a chop. I think we should get her a fan (shànzi). / I ve got to go to Xuānwǔqū this afternoon I ll get you one. / Oh, that would be great I have class from 1 to 5. / No problem, I often buy fans there. Summary of gĕi patterns Verb Wŏmen gĕi tā yí ge lĭwù, zĕnmeyàng? Let s give her a present. CV V V-O V-O Wŏmen gĕi tā mǎi yí ge lĭwù, zĕnmeyàng? Let s buy a present for her. Wŏmen mǎi yí ge lĭwù gĕi tā, zĕnmeyàng? Let s buy her a present. 5.7 Music and musicians 5.7.1 Singers, styles and other vocabulary: gē yì shǒu gē gēshǒu gēxīng bǐjiào xǐhuan / zuì xǐhuan song a M song song-hand song-star quite like / most like a song singer star singer prefer Māo Wáng Jiǎkéchóng Jiékèxùn Pàwǎluódì Mài Dāngnà cat king armor-shell-insects Elvis The Beatles M. Jackson Pavorotti Madonna yáogǔn<yuè> xīhā juéshì<yuè> xiāngcūn-yīnyuè rock n roll hiphop jazz country-music gǔdiǎn-yīnyuè classical music míngē folksongs Notes a) Shǒu M for songs, poems and gēshǒu de shǒu are homophones pronounced the same but are different words (written with different characters). b) Zuì most, eg: zuì dà biggest, zuì duō most, zuì nán hardest etc. 193
5.7.2 Dialogue musical preferences Jiǎ Nĭ zuì xĭhuan shénme yàng de What kinds of music do you prefer? yīnyuè? Yǐ Wŏ bĭjiào xĭhuan yáogǔnyuè hé xīhā. I prefer rock and hiphop. Jiǎ Nĕi ge gēshǒu? Which singers? Yǐ Zhōngguó de ma? Chinese [ones]? Jiǎ Shì. Yes. Yǐ Xĭhuan Zhōu Jiélún, Nà Yīng. I like Zhou Jielun, Na Ying. Jiǎ Nà, Xīfāng de ne? And Western ones? Yǐ Xīfāng de ne, zuì xĭhuan Māo Wáng! Western ones, I like the King. Jiǎ Nà nĭ yĕ xĭhuan juéshì ma? Do you like jazz too? Yǐ Juéshì ne, hái kĕyĭ, kěshi Jazz, [I] quite [like it], but I don t wǒ bù cháng tīng, tīngbuguàn. often listen [to it], I m not used [to it]. 5.7.3 Musical instruments Talking about music often leads to questions about playing musical instruments. Traditional Chinese instruments include the shēng a reed instrument, the dí flute, the pípa lute, and various kinds of qín stringed instruments. Questions about traditional music or instruments can include the SV chuántǒng traditional : Jiǎ Nĭ xĭhuan Zhōngguó chuántŏng de Do you like traditional Chinese music? yīnyuè ma? Yǐ Nĭ shuō de shi shēng, dízi, pípa zhèi You mean ( what you say is ) music such as yàngr de yīnyuè ma? the sheng [reed pipe], dizi [bamboo flute] and pipa [Chinese lute]? Jiǎ Jiùshi a. Precisely. Yǐ Ng, hái kĕyĭ. Wŏ bù cháng tīng nèi Yeah, it s okay. I don t listen to that kind of yàngr de yīnyuè! music much. Note: a) Note that nĭ shuō de shi, literally you say thing is, corresponds to English you mean. 194
Chàng+de hǎo, lā+de yě hǎo! [JKW 2003] Words for modern instruments are mostly based on the traditional names (though jítā is a loanword): gāngqín tíqín héngdí shùdí jítā metal-qin lift-qin horiz.-flute vert-flute piano violin family flute clarinet guitar Chinese does not have a single verb comparable to English play that can be used for any instrument (as well as football). Instead, verbs are chosen according to the particular musical gesture: tán pluck, for plucked instruments, such as guitar and piano; lā pull for bowed instruments, such as violin or pípa; chuī blow for wind instruments such as clarinet or bamboo flute [dízi]; etc. However, the Chinese verb huì be able to [of learned abilities], unlike its English counterparts such as can or be able, has the virtue of not requiring expression of the skill itself. The following sentence could, therefore, be literally translated as Can I ask what instrument you are able in? Qĭngwèn, nĭ huì shénme yuèqì? Wŏ huì tán diănr jítā, kĕshi tán+de bú tài hăo. Wǒ huì chuī lăba, dànshi chuī+de bù hǎo. Can I ask what musical instrument you play? I can play some guitar, but I don t play very well. I play trumpet a bit, but not well. Exercise 5. Hot lines in Kunming: Hot lines (rèxiàn), phone numbers which allow you to inquire about a subject for a small charge, are popular in China or at least, they were in the year 2000. In the city of Kūnmíng, (zài Yúnnán), you could dial a hotline number to get an explanation of your personality based on your color preferences: those who like red, for example, are warm and enthusiastic (rèqíng) and uninhibited (bēnfàng). 195
Other lines allowed you to select a song and have it played over the telephone. (Such lines are less common now that the novelty has worn off.) Here are some of the selections. You can make your own choice, as well as initiate a brief discussion with the operator along the following lines: Wéi, wŏ xiǎng tīng yì shǒu gē. Něi ge gēxīng? Wŏ yào tīng Cuī Jiàn de <gē>. Cuī Jiàn de něi shǒu gē? Hello, I d like to listen to a song. Which singer? I d like to listen to one of Cui Jian s. Which one of Cui Jian s? Cuī Jiàn de Huāfáng Gūniang ba. Cui Jian s Flower House Girl, is it? Èr líng jiŭ sān. #2093. Hăo, #2093. Okay, #2093. # singer song 2093 Cuī Jiàn 男 Huāfáng Gūniang flower house girl 2094 Cuī Jiàn Yīwú suǒyǒu to have nothing at all 2095 Cuī Jiàn Cóng tóu zài lái Let s take it from the top again 2096 Zhāng Xuéyǒu 男 Qíngwǎng Web of love 2097 Zhāng Xuéyǒu Nǐ lěng+de xiàng fēng! You re cold as the wind 2098 Wáng Fēi 女 Wǒ yuànyi I m willing 2099 Wáng Fēi Nǚrén Woman 2100 Tián Zhèn 女 Yěhuā Wild flower 2101 Tián Zhèn Zìyóu zìzài Free and easy 2102 Kē Yǐmǐn 女 Ài wǒ Love me 2103 Dèng Lìjūn 女 Yè lái xiāng Fragrance in the night = name of a flower 196
5.8 Verbs of cognition 5.8.1 Knowing Knowledge of facts is expressed by the verb zhīdao (with the second syllable often fully toned in the negative, bù zhīdào). In southern Mandarin, xiǎode is the colloquial equivalent. Nǐ zhīdao ma? Nǐ xiǎode ma? Do you know? Bù zhīdào. Bù xiǎode. [I] don t. Zhī bu zhīdào? Xiǎo bu xiǎode? Do [you] know (or not)? Tā wèishénme hěn jǐnzhāng? Wǒ bù zhīdào ~ wǒ bù xiǎode. Knowing someone, or being acquainted with someone or something, is expressed by a different verb in Mandarin: rènshi. (The same distinction is made in the Romance languages.) Contrast the two usages in the examples below: Tā shì bu shi Yáng Lán? Wǒ bù xiǎode! Shéi shi Yáng Lán? Tā shi Yáng Lán ma? Wǒ bù xiǎode, wǒ bù rènshi tā. Shi Zhōngguórén ma? Bù zhīdao, wǒ bú rènshi tā. Is that Yang Lan? I don t know. Who s Yang Lan? Is that Yang Lan? I don t know, I don t know her. Is [she] Chinese? [I] don t know, I don t know her. [Yáng Lán used to work for CCTV as a newscaster; she came to the US to attend graduate school at Columbia University, then returned to China to become an immensely popular talk show host.] 5.8.2 Understanding a) Dǒng understand Dǒng ma? Dǒng bu dǒng? Dǒng. Duìbuqǐ, wǒ bù dǒng. Another word, míngbai, composed of míng bright (also seen in míngtiān) and bái white, means understand in the sense of to get it. Because understanding often comes as a breakthrough, both dǒng and míngbai are associated with the new situation le. i) Dŏng le ma? Dŏng le. I understand [now]. Chàbuduō le! Just about. Jīběnshàng dǒng le! Basically, I do. Duìbuqĭ, háishi bù dŏng! Sorry, I still don t get it. 197
ii) Míngbai ma? Míngbai le! [Now] I get it! iii) Nǐ dǒng wǒ de yìsi ma? / Dǒng. Do you understand my meaning? / I do. b) Kàndedŏng The dialogue in Unit 4 began with the question in which the verbs kàn look; read and dǒng understand are combined in a phrase mediated by de (which turns out to be written +de so as to; get, ie 得 ): Nǐ kàndedǒng ma? A positive response would be kàndedǒng; a negative one, kànbudǒng. Tīng listen may substitute for kàn if the stimulus is aural rather than visual (see chart below). The relationship between the two verbs is one of action (kàn) and result (dǒng). The presence of the internal de or bu makes the construction potential rather than actual, so the translation of kàndedǒng is not just understand but manage to understand ; similarly, kànbudǒng is not succeed in understanding. The complete paradigm is as follows: positive actual Kàndŏng le. Tīngdŏng le. potential Kàndedŏng. Tīngdedŏng. [I] understood [it]. [I] m able to understand [it]. negative Méi kàndŏng. Méi tīngdŏng. Kànbudŏng. Tīngbudŏng. [I] didn t understand[it]. [I] m not able to understand [it]. Other examples of the potential construction encountered in earlier units include: duìbuqĭ shuāibudăo chīdeguàn chībuguàn tīngbuguàn xuébudào sorry (not worthy of facing) manage not to fall down be in the habit of eating not be in the habit of eating not be in the habit of listening [to it] not manage to learn it 5.8.3 Reporting on questions Verbs such as zhīdao, as well as wèn ask, are often used to report on questions. In English, this has some interesting grammatical consequences, as shown below: Direct speech (schematic) Reported speech (actual) I asked: Where are you going? > I asked where you were going. We don t know: Is he Chinese? > We don t know whether/if he s Chinese [or not]. I don t know: Why is she so nervous? > I don t know why she s so nervous. 198
In English, reporting speech involves grammatical features such as agreement of tenses ( were going, not are going in the first example), non-question word order ( where you were going rather than where were you going ) and insertion of if or whether in yesno questions. Chinese, fortunately, does not require such contortions, as the following examples show. a) Zhīdao Direct speech Wǒ bù zhīdào: Tā wèishénme hěn > jǐnzhāng? I don t know: Why is he so nervous? Reported speech Wǒ bù zhīdào tā wèishénme hěn jǐnzhāng. I don t know why he s so nervous. There is one constraint that needs to be noted, however: if the embedded question is a yes-no question, then it must have the V-not-V form; it cannot be a ma-question. The reason for this is that ma functions like the rising question intonation in English it envelopes the whole sentence, not just a part of it. Some examples will make this clear: Wǒmen bù zhīdào: Tā shì > Wǒmen bù zhīdào tā shì bu shi Zhōngguó rén ma? Zhōngguó rén. We don t know: Is she Chinese? We don t know if she s Chinese (or not). Notice that the reported speech, the object of zhīdao, always contains a question-form, such as shénme, or a V-not-V question. There are times when ma does show up at the end of the sentence, but if it does, it goes with the higher verb, zhīdao, not with the internal question: or Nǐ zhī bu zhīdào {tā shì bu shi Zhōngguó rén}. Nǐ zhīdào {tā shì bu shi Zhōngguó rén} ma? b) Wèn ask [a question] Wèn occurs in expressions such as qǐngwèn may [I] ask; excuse me and wèntí question; problem. (Yǒu wèntí ma?) The root meaning of wèn is ask [a question]. Questions embedded after wèn have the same constraints as those after zhīdao, eg requiring the V-not-V form with yes-no questions: Tā wèn wǒ: Nǐ shi Zhōngguó rén ma? > Tā wèn wǒ shì bu shi Zhōngguó rén. Tā wèn wǒ: Nǐ shi shénme dìfang rén? > Tā wèn wǒ shì shénme dìfang rén. 199
Notice that Chinese does not require repetition of the pronoun in a sentence like the last: He asked me if I were Chinese (with both me and I in the English) is usually expressed as: Tā wèn wǒ shì bu shi Zhōngguó rén (with only one wǒ). Exercise 6. a) Translate the following: 1. Wǒ bù zhīdao tā de yàoshi zài nǎr. 2. Tā wèn wǒ yǒu méiyou hùzhào. 3. Wǒ bù xiǎode tā de guójí shi shénme. 4. Tāmen wèn wǒ xǐ bù xǐhuan Shìjiè Bēi. 5. Tā wèn wǒ jǐ diǎn chī zǎodiǎn. 6. Tā wèn wǒ shì bu shi běnkēshēng. b) How would you say the following in Chinese? Recall that shì bu shi is it the case that is often used to question certain assumptions. 1. Do you know who Bǎoyù is? / Sorry, I don t. 2. I don t know whether Bǎoyù is hungry (or not). 3. Do you know why Bǎoyù is nervous? 4. He s nervous because he s going to see Dàiyù. 5. Do you know if Bǎoyù likes [ài] Dàiyù? 6. We don t know what Bǎoyù s surname is. [Jiǎ Bǎoyù and Lín Dàiyù are, respectively, male and female characters in the Chinese classic novel Hóng Lóu Mèng Dream of the Red Chamber.] 5.9.1 Going places: some vocabulary 5.9 Destination huíjiā chéng lǐ xiāngxià wàiguó jīchǎng Cháng Chéng town in outside-country airplane-area Long Wall return home in town the country abroad airport Great Wall 5.9.2 Where to? Destination may be expressed directly (i) after the motion verbs, lái come and qù go : lái Běijīng come to Beijing ; qù Běijīng go to Beijing. The same meaning can also be expressed prepositionally (ii), with the destination placed before lái or qù (both usually untoned) as the object of dào to, or in some cases, shàng on. So the options are as follows: i. Nǐmen qù nǎr ~ nǎlǐ? Where are you going? Wǒmen qù Běijīng. We re going to Beijing. 200
ii. Nĭmen dào năr ~ nălĭ qu? same Wŏmen dào Bĕijīng qu. Nĭmen shàng năr ~ nălĭ qu? Wŏmen shàng Bĕijīng qu. same Though there may be stylistic reasons for choosing the direct pattern over the prepositional, the two patterns are essentially synonymous. The direct pattern accords with the order of verb and destination in regional languages such as Cantonese and Hokkien and for that reason, is preferred by southern speakers (including Taiwanese). Of the two prepositional options, the shàng qu pattern seems to carry a special nuance of setting off for some place so it may be more common in the question than in the answer. Other examples Tāmen qù shénme dìfang? Wǒmen dào chéng lǐ qu. Where abouts are they going to? We re going into town. Wŏmen shàng jīchăng qu We re off to the airport jiē péngyou. to meet some friends. Wǒmen huíjiā. We re going home. Notice that go home is not expressed with qù but with huí return, huíjiā: Jīntiān jǐ diǎn huíjiā? What time are you going home today? 5.9.3 Going Both qù and zǒu can be translated as go. They differ in that zǒu cannot take a specific object; qù can. Zǒu can often be translated as leave. Wŏ gāi zŏu le. I should be off. but Wŏ bāyuè sānhào qù Bĕijīng. I m going to Beijing on August 8th. To leave a place can be expressed by the verb, líkāi (with the first syllable identified with the lí associated with jìn or yuǎn): Wǒmen míngtiān líkāi Běijīng, qù Chángchūn. We re leaving Beijing tomorrow and going to Changchun. 5.9.4 Nǎr ~ nǎlǐ as an indefinite Like shénme, nǎr ~ nǎlǐ can also serve as an indefinite in either the direct pattern, or the prepositional: 201
Nǐ qù nǎr ~ nǎlǐ? Wǒ bú qù nǎr ~ nǎlǐ. Nǐ dào nǎr ~ nǎlǐ qù? Wǒ bú dào nǎr ~ nǎlǐ qù. Where are you going? I m not going anywhere (in particular). Where are you going? I m not going anywhere (in particular). 5.9.5 Destination with other verbs. With the verbs lái and qù, the destination either follows the verb immediately without any mediation (qù Běijīng), or it is governed by dào to and placed before the verb (dào Běijīng qu). However, with other motion verbs, such as bān move [one s home], zǒu in its meaning of walk, pǎo run, kāi drive, destination is placed after the verb, mediated by dào to; towards (and sometimes followed ultimately by a toneless lai or qu to indicate direction to or away from the speaker): Wŏmen bāyuè bān dào Tiānjīn <qu>. Bù néng kāi dào Guìlín, tài yuăn. Nĭmen păo dào nǎr <qu>? In August, we re moving to Tiānjīn. [You] can t drive to Guilin, it s too far. Where are you running to? The saying at the beginning of this unit also fits the pattern: Huó dào lăo, xué dào lǎo [If] you live till old age, [and] study till old age. However, the last part of the saying, xuébudào, uses dào to express success (in the sense of reaching a goal), a function of dào that be will discussed in a later unit. Summary lái and qù qù nǎr dào nǎr qu shàng nǎr qu qù chéng lĭ dào chéng lĭ qu (shàng chéng lĭ qu) lái Bĕijīng dào Bĕijīng lai (shàng Bĕijīng lai) Not lái or qù (primarily) generic [non-spec.] spec. object, VERB-dào place<lai/qu> object no dào bānjiā moving líkāi Bĕijīng zŏu dào nàr <lai/qu> kāichē driving bān dào Shànghăi <lai/qu> huíjiā going home kāi dào jīchăng <lai/qu> 202
5.9.6 Specifying a time With a comment about destination, you can mention a specific time, either a day of the week, or a date. Recall the placement of time words before or after the subject (if present), but always before their associated verb: Nǐ xiànzài qù shénme dìfang? Wǒ xiànzài qù shàngkè. Bāyuè sān hào wǒ qù Běijīng; wǔ hào qù Shànghǎi. Wǒmen shíyuèfen bānjiā. Bān dào nǎlǐ? Wǒmen bān dào Dōngchéng. Sān hào líkāi Zhènjiāng, wŭ hào dào Lìjiāng. Wǒ shēng zai Shēnzhèn, zài nán biānr, kěshi shíjiǔ suì wǒ bān dào Běijīng lai le, xiànzài zhù zai Běijīng. Where are you going now? I m going to class now. I m going to Beijing on Aug. 3rd; and to Shanghai on the 5th. We re moving house in October. Where are you moving to? We re moving to East Town. [We] re leaving Zhenjiang [in Jiangsu] on the 3 rd, and [we] ll get to Lijiang [in Yunnan] on the 5 th. I was born in Shenzhen, in the south, but at 19, I moved here to Beijing, and now I live in Beijing. 5.9.7 Inserting foreign words Particularly in the early stages of studying Chinese, it is acceptable to insert English nouns into your conversation: Wǒ qù library / cafeteria / airport, etc. Foreign verbs, however, resist insertion into Chinese; instead they are recast as nouns attached to a general Chinese verb such as zuò do; make. So reserve might appear as zuò yí ge reservation. The main thing is to establish your credentials by producing the grammatical framework of the sentence which includes the verb - with confidence. Exercise 7. a) Explain that: they ve gone home. they ve already left Beijing. they re moving to the countryside. they re going abroad. they re going to the airport to meet someone. you should be leaving, it s late. you re not going anywhere this evening because you re so tired. you re driving to the airport this afternoon to meet your classmates. they ll leave Chéngdū on the 8th and get to Lìjiāng the next day (dì-èr tiān). you were born in Chicago, but you moved to Paris at the age of 12. 203
5.10 Purpose 5.10.1 Kàn look at The verb kàn, whose root meaning is look at, may, in combination with different objects, show a wide range of English translations: kànshū to read kànbào read the newspaper kàn diànyǐng<r> see a movie kàn diànshì watch TV kàn Hóng Lóu Mèng to read The Dream of the Red Chamber kàn péngyou visit friends kàn qīnqi visit relatives kàn dìtú look at a map kànbìng see a doctor; see a patient (look+at-illness) kàn rènao go where the excitement is (look+at-hubbub) 5.10.2 Other things to do mǎi dōngxi VO shop ( buy things ) zuò gōngkè VO do homework qǔ yīfu VO pick up [one s] clothes ( get; fetch-clothes ) kāihuì VO hold / attend a meeting; conference ( openmeeting ) gōngzuò V to work [also N a job ] gànhuór VO to do things zuò shìqing VO do things duànliàn V to exercise; workout; train yùndòng V to exercise; do sports zuò yùndòng VO do sports 5.10.3 Reasons for going somewhere The verb qù, with or without an explicit destination, may be followed by an expression of purpose; if the destination is present, then it precedes the purpose (as it does in English): Wǒmen qù <Běijīng> kàn péngyou. We re going <to Beijing> to visit friends. Tā qù <túshūguǎn> zuò gōngkè. He s going <to the library> to do his hwk. Purpose can be questioned by zuò shénme, gàn shénme, gànmá, all literally do what ; the particle, ne, associated with close engagement, may also appear: Nǐ qù túshūguǎn zuò shénme <ne>? Nǐ qù túshūguǎn gàn shénme <ne>? Nǐ qù túshūguǎn gànmá <ne>? 204
The verb gàn, common as the ordinary word for do; make in northern China, is avoided in polite circles in Taiwan and overseas communities because of sexual overtones. Gànmá often carries overtones of disbelief, particularly when followed by ne: Gànmá ne? What [on earth] are [you] doing? A safe strategy is to use zuò shénme but be prepared to hear other options. 5.10.4 Qù and purpose In purpose clauses, the verb qù go may be repeated at, or postponed to the end of the sentence (where it is usually toneless). Tā qù mǎi dōngxi. Tā qù mǎi dōngxi qu. Tā mǎi dōngxi qu. Qù kàn péngyou. Qù kàn péngyou qu. Kàn péngyou qu. Wǒ qù shàngkè. Wǒ qù shàngkè qu. Wǒ shàngkè qu. She s going shopping. [He] s going to see a friend. I m going to class. Tā qù chéng lǐ mǎi dōngxi qu. She s going into town to shop. Wǒmen qù Sūzhōu kàn péngyou qu. We re going to Suzhou to visit friends. 5.10.5 Intention You can assert your intention or resolution to go somewhere (or do something) with the following verbs: Usage yào xiǎng dăsuàn juédìng want think > feel like plan; intend decide Q Nĭ yào qù nǎr? dăsuàn dào nǎlǐ qu? xiǎng qù shénme dìfang? juédìng dào nǎlǐ qu le? A Wǒmen bāyuè dăsuàn qù Shànghǎi In August, we re going shopping in mǎi dōngxi. Shanghai. Wǒ yào dào Lúndūn qu kàn qīnqi. I want to go to London to visit [my] relatives. 205
Xiàwǔ, tāmen dǎsuàn qù chéng lǐ mǎi lǐwù gěi yéye. Shí diǎn wǒ děi qù bàngōngshì kàn lăoshī. They re planning to go into town this afternoon to buy [their] uncle a present. At 10, I have to go to the office to see [my] teacher. Kěyǐ qù lóushàng zhǎo Chén lăoshī. [You] can go upstairs and look for Prof. Chen. Zámen qù wàitou kàn fēijī ba! Let s go out and look at the airplanes. Tāmen juédìng qù Táiwān kàn qīnqi. They ve decided to go to Taiwan to visit relatives. Hĕn duō rén dōu xiǎng qù Xiāng Gǎng zhǎo gōngzuò. Lots of people would like to go to HK to find work. Summary Subject intention destination purpose Wŏmen dăsuàn qù chéng lǐ dào chéng lĭ qu mǎi dōngxi <qu>. Tāmen xiǎng qù túshūguǎn kàn bào <qu>. dào túshūguăn qu Tāmen juédìng bān dào Bĕijīng qu shàng dàxué <qu> le. 5.11 In the past 5.11.1 Not having done something [yet] As seen earlier, the non-occurrence of particular events scheduled or expected is regularly indicated by méi<you> before the verb: I haven t washed yet. They haven t left yet. They haven t left Beijing yet. They haven t reached Shanghai yet. I haven t read today s paper yet. I didn t read the World Cup report. They haven t arrived [here] yet. They didn t go to Beijing. They haven t decided yet. They haven t gone home yet. Wŏ hái méi xǐzǎo. Tāmen hái méi zŏu ne. Tāmen hái méi líkāi Běijīng. Tāmen hái méi dào Shànghǎi. Hái méi kàn jīntiān de bào. Méi kàn Shìjiè Bēi de xiāoxi. Tāmen hái méi lái ne. Tāmen méi qù Bĕijīng. Tāmen hái méi juédìng ne. Tāmen hái méi huíjiā. 206
The negative with méiyou is generally only applicable to action verbs. Verbs such as juéde feel, zhīdao know, yào want, which express emotional or cognitive states, do not normally occur with preceding méi<you>. Whether a present or a past tense is appropriate for the English translation of such cases has to depend on context. Wŏ zuótiān bù shūfu wŏ méi qù. Zuótiān méi qù ma? Méi qù, tài yuăn, bù xiǎng qù nàme yuăn. Qùnián, wŏ bù rènshi tā; wŏ yĕ bù zhīdao tā gēge shì shéi. I didn t feel well yesterday I didn t go. Didn t you go yesterday? No, I didn t, it was too far; I didn t want to go so far. Last year, I didn t know her; nor did I know who her brother was. 5.11.2 The position of le Reporting the occurrence of an event, ie the positive version of sentences such as those cited above with méiyou, has also been shown in many earlier examples to involve the presence of le at the foot of the sentence: Zhōumò nĭmen qù nǎlǐ le? Wŏmen qù Cháng Chéng le. Where did you go over the weekend? We went to the Great Wall. Jīntiān shàngwŭ nĭ dào nǎlǐ qu le? Where did you go this morning? Wŏmen dào chéng lĭ qù mǎi dōngxi We went shopping in town. qu le. However, le is not always sentence final. Under certain conditions, it is also found between an action verb and its object, where it underscores the completion of the action. The most concrete manifestation of this meaning is found in sequences where the second event is conditional on the completion of the first: Nĭ jǐ diǎn huíjiā? Wŏ chī-le fàn jiu huí jiā. Shénme shíhou mǎi piào? Shàng-le chē jiu măi piào. When are you going home? I m going home after [I] eat. When do we buy our tickets? Buy your tickets after boarding. Another manifestation involves the presence of what is often called a quantified object after the verb. A quantified object is one containing a number and measure phrase, such as liǎng ge, or as below, yí tàng a trip. In such cases, if le is present, it will be placed after the verb and before the quantified object, not at the foot of the sentence. 207
Zhōumò nĭmen qù nǎlǐ le? Where did you go over the weekend? Wŏmen qù Cháng Chéng le. We went to the Great Wall. Wŏmen qù-le yí tàng Cháng Chéng. We took a trip to the Great Wall. The difference in the meaning of the two options is subtle; but the grammatical choice is clear: if you choose yí tàng in your response, le follows the verb, if you do not and if le appears then it will be placed at the foot of the sentence. This quantified object rule is important, and you should retain it for future reference. However, at this point, you will not be burdened with examples in which le is placed between verb and object; the examples in this lesson can be expressed quite naturally without use of measure phrases that constitute quantified objects. 5.11.3 More time expressions qùnián shàng ge yuè shàng ge xīnqqi ~lǐbài zhōumò last year last month last week weekend jīnnián zhèi ge yuè zhèi ge lǐbài ~ xīngqī this year this month this week míngnián xià ge yuè xià ge xīngqī ~ lǐbài next year next month next week 5.11.4 More examples of final le Zuótiān shàng nǎr qu le? Shàng ge yuè, wŏmen dào Shànghăi qù kàn shūshu qu le. Zhōumò dào nǎlǐ qu le? Xīngqīliù wŏmen qù chéng lĭ mǎi shŏujī qu le. Xīngqītiān qù jīchăng jiē péngyou le. Hùzhào yǐjing qǔ le ma? Yǐjing qǔ le. Zuótiān méiyŏu kè, dào nǎr qù le? Méi dào nǎr qù, wŏmen zài jiā lĭ zuò gōngkè ne. Where d you go yesterday? Last month, we went to Shanghai to see [my] uncle. Where d you go over the weekend? Saturday, we went into town to buy a cellphone. Sunday, we went to the airport to meet some friends. Have you already picked up your passport? Yes, I have. [Note qǔ vs qù.] No class yesterday, where d you go? Didn t go anywhere, we stayed at home and did homework. 208
The last sentence, in particular, serves to remind us that le, although associated with events that have happened, is not a past tense marker. Exercise 8. a) Translate 1. On the weekend, we re going to visit the Great Wall; it s not far from Beijing. 2. No class tomorrow; we ve decided to go to the country to visit Mǎ Róng s uncle. 3. Don t forget your keys. / My keys, I already have; but I don t know where my umbrella is. 4. Where have they gone? / They ve gone upstairs to look for a phone. 5. I haven t gone to get my visa (qiānzhèng) yet; I m planning to go tomorrow. b) Provide biographical information containing all or some of the following information: place of birth; place where you grew up; age when you moved to another place; where you live now; which university you are attending; which level; etc. 5.12 And There is considerable disparity in the way English and Chinese express coordination. English makes broader use of coordinating conjunctions, such as and ; Chinese often uses the equivalent of and in a narrower range of grammatical contexts, and even there, may leave the coordination unmarked. Lìshǐ, shùxué dōu hěn nán! Wǒ kāfēi, píjiǔ dōu bù hē, zhǐ xǐhuan hē chá. History and mathematics are both tough! I don t drink coffee or beer, just tea. Explicit coordination is expressed with gēn (with a range of meaning that includes heel; follow; with; and ) or hé (often pronounced, non-standardly, hàn by people from Taiwan). Both are only used to join nouns, pronouns, or more generally, phrases: Dàlǐ gēn Lìjiāng dōu zài Yúnnán de Dali and Lijiang are both in the northxīběi. west of Yunnan. Míngtiān qù chéng lǐ kàn Wáng lǎoshī hé tā de xuéshēng. Nánde gēn nǚde dōu shuō+de hěn hǎo. Lǎoshī, fùmǔ gēn xuéshēng dōu děi qù. Tomorrow [I] m going into town to see Professor Wang and her students. The males and females all speak [it] well. Teachers, parents and students all have to go [there]. 209
Regardless of whether a conjunction is present or not, Chinese tends to use the adverb dōu to support coordination. Dōu does occasionally anticipate upcoming material, but much more often it refers back to support already mentioned or implied material, which accounts for the order in the sentence: Kāfēi píjiǔ wǒ dōu bù hē. Gēn and hé are not even optional in settings that involve verbs or clauses, such as those illustrated below. If marked at all, such connections are indicated by adverbs such as yě: The students are nervous, and so are Xuéshēng hěn jǐnzhāng, lǎoshī yě hěn the teachers. jǐnzhāng. They re going to Beijing to visit friends and shop. Tāmen qù Běijīng kàn péngyou mǎi dōngxi. You should, therefore, be careful not to take your cue from English and. Here are some other examples where and in English has no direct counterpart in the Chinese: [I] m fine and you? There are telephones next door and upstairs. I eat breakfast at 7 and start work at 8:00. Hái hǎo; nǐ ne? Gébì yǒu diànhuà, lóushàng yě yǒu. Wŏ qī diǎn chī zǎodiǎn, bā diǎn shàngbān. 5.13 Sports and scores Pingpong, badminton, football (local clubs as well as European and other international clubs), basketball (Chinese and NBA), swimming, and track and field (particularly during the run up to the Olympics) are popular sports in China. If you choose your topics carefully, you can at least inquire about scores. More names of sports and related conversational material appear in later units. Begin with the verbs yíng win and shū lose ; in order to avoid complications, we use them in only in the simplest of sentences, as shown. The final le indicates that the contest has already taken place. Zhōngguó yíng le. Bāxī shū le. China won. Brazil lost. 5.13.1 Scores Scores are indicated with bǐ compare; than; to : thus a basketball score might be 99 bǐ 98; football 2 bǐ 0. The scores of low scoring sports can be questioned with jǐ how many : jǐ bǐ jǐ; high scoring games with duōshao: duōshao bǐ duōshao. Finally, a simple way to mention the two relevant teams is to list them, separated by the conjunctions hé or gēn and : Zhōngguó hé Bāxī, shéi yíng le? Rìběn hé Tàiguó, Tàiguó shū le. China and Brazil, who won? Japan and Thailand, Thailand lost. 210
Exercise 9. a) Translate: 1. How about the US and Mexico, who won? 2. The US won, 2:1. 3. Did England win? / Yes, 3:1. 4. What was the score? / 98-92. Boston won. Boston s pretty good ( strong )! 5. 95 to what? / I m not sure. 6. In pingpong [pīngpāngqiú], China s #1; the US is #1 in basketball [lánqiú]. b) Translate: 1. The tests are hard, and there s lots of homework. 2. I m taking 5 courses and they re all hard! 3. Today s class has 12 men and 12 women in. 4. Who won the Japan and Korea [match]? (Rìběn Japan, Hánguó Korea ) 5. The library and cafeteria are air-conditioned, (yǒu kōngtiáo), so we like to study there. 5.14 Dialogue: Who won? Zhōu Shuǎng is a man in his 40s who works in the foreign student office; Zhāng Yīng is the Chinese name of a younger women, an undergraduate from abroad who has been studying at the university for a year. They run into each other just outside the cafeteria. Zhāng. Zhōu lǎoshī, nín hǎo. Zhōu. Ei, Zhāng Yīng, nǐ hǎo. Nǐ zài lǐtou a! Zhāng. Shì a, gāng chīwán fàn. Zhōu. Xiànzài shàng nǎr qu a? Zhāng. Túshūguǎn. Zhōu. Túshūguǎn a. Zuò gōngkè qu ma? Zhāng. Bú shi zuò gōngkè qu, shi kànbào qu. Zhōu. O, kànbào qu! Zhāng. Shì, túshūguǎn yǒu kōngtiáo, bǐjiào shūfu. Zhōu. Ng, jīntiān shì hěn rè! Teacher Zhou, how are you? Ah, Zhang Ying, how are you? You were inside! Yes, we just finished. Where are you off to right now? [To the] library. The library! [You] re going [there] to do [your] homework? Not to do my homework, to read the paper. Oh, to read the paper! Yeah, there s airconditioning in the library, it s quite comfortable. Yes, it IS hot, today! 211
Zhāng. Hěn rè, yě hěn mēn. Zhōu. Zhōngwén bào nǐ kàndedǒng ma? Hot and muggy. Are you able to read Chinese newspapers? Zhāng Néng kàndǒng yìdiǎnr. Shìjiè Bēi I can read some. I can read about the World de xiāoxi néng kàndǒng, méi wèntí! Cup no problem [there]! Zhōu. O, Shìjiè Bēi. Zuótiān shi Zhōngguó Oh, the World Cup! It was China and hé Hánguó, nǐ kàn le méiyou? Korea, yesterday did you see it? Zhāng. Kàn le, dāngrán kàn le. Zhōu. Tài kěxī le, Zhōngguó shū le! Zhāng. Ng, tài kěxī le. Búguò Zhōngguó bú cuò. Xià cì! Zhōu. Nà, jīntiān shi Yīngguó hé Āgēntíng, shì bu shì? Zhāng. Shì,Yīngguó yíng le. Zhōu. Shì ma? Jĭ bĭ jĭ? Zhāng. Yī bĭ líng. Zhōu. Ei, bú cuò, Yīngguó hěn qiáng. Sure, of course I did. It s too bad, China lost! Yeah, a pity. But China s not bad! Next time! Today, it was England and Argentine, right? That s right, England won. Is that right? What was the score? One nil. Hey, not bad, England s quite good. Zhāng. Hái kĕyĭ, búguò Bāxī gèng qiáng, wŏ xiǎng. They re not bad, but Brazil s better, I feel. Zhōu. Yīngguó hé Bāxī shi xià ge lĭbài ba? England and Brazil are next week, right? Zhāng. Xià ge lǐbài èr. Zhōu. Nà míngtiān lǐbàiliù, méi kè, nĭ shàng năr qu? Zhāng. Míngtiān bú dào nǎr qu, yĕxŭ zài jiā lĭ xiūxi xiūxi, kàn yìdiănr. diànshì. Dànshi xīngqītiān dăsuàn dào Tiānjīn qù kàn péngyou. Zhōu. Nǐ zài Tiānjīn yě yǒu péngyou a!? Next Tuesday. Well, tomorrow s Saturday, no class; where are you going? I m not going anywhere tomorrow, I ll probably just take it easy at home, and watch some TV. But on Sunday [we] re planning to visit a friend in Tianjin. You have friends in Tianjin, as well?! 212
Zhāng. Shì a, tā zài Nánkāi Dàxué dúshū. Zhōu. Wàiguó lái de ma? Zhāng. Jiānádà rén; Duōlúnduō lái de. Zhōu. Tā yě huì shuō Hànyǔ ma? Zhāng. Tā Hànyǔ shuō+de hěn bú cuò. Zhōu. Kāichē qu ma? Yes, she s studying at Nankai University. Is [she] foreign? [She] s Canadian; from Toronto. She speaks Chinese too? Her Chinese isn t bad! Are you driving [there]? Zhāng Bù, zuò huŏchē qu. No, I m taking the train. Hăo, Zhōu lăoshī, wŏ děi cóng zhèi Okay, Prof. Zhŏu, I ve got to go this biānr zŏu le. way. Zhōu. Hǎo, Zhāng Yīng, màn zǒu a! Okay, Zhang Ying, take it easy! Notes gāng chīwán kĕxī xià cì qiáng xiūxi kāichē qu zuò huŏchē cóng zǒu ADV just ; gāng dào just arrived ; Tā gāng chīguo wănfàn. wán finish may follow almost any action verb: shuōwán le; xiěwán le; hái méi kǎowán ne. a pity (able-pity) cì time is a verbal measure; cf. zài shuō yí cì say it again. SV strong; powerful; better V rest, often reiterated as xiūxi xiūxi. with kaiche acting as an adverbial, go driving ; cf. zŏulù qu. zuò sit corresponding to English take ; cf. zuò fēijī qu. to go this way is expressed with cóng in Chinese. Exercise 10. Explain that: 1. you are going to Beijing to visit friends. 2. you are not going anywhere tomorrow you have a lot of homework. 3. you re off to class Chinese class. 4. you have to go and pick up your [clean] clothes now. 5. you don t know what date they re going to China. 6. that s yesterday s [paper], today s is over here. 7. his wife s luggage is still on the plane. 8. you re going there to fetch the luggage. 9. your teacher s outside. 10. you have lots of friends but they don t understand Chinese. 213
Yǒu méiyou Ōuzhōu Bēi de xiāoxi? [JKW 2004] 5.15 Pronunciation 5.15.1 Final-r in standard Mandarin A very few words in standard Mandarin always occur with an r-final: érzi èr ĕrduō child two ear However, a large number of words occur with a suffix r in the speech of Beijing and other parts of the northern Mandarin speaking area. Most of these are nouns: kòngr spare time ; píngr bottle, wányìr toys, diànyĭngr films, ménkŏur doorway, xīnyănr heart; cleverness, wéizuĭr a bib, xìngrénr almonds, etc. The suffix appears with a few non-nouns as well: shùnshŏur easily; without problem and wánr have fun. One historical source for this, though probably not the only one, is suggested by the writing system, which writes the r-suffix with the ér of érzi son ( 儿 / 兒 ). Supposedly, ér was originally attached to nouns in certain contexts as a diminutive, or expression of familiarity, but with time, it came to have a much more abstract meaning, ultimately ending up as little more than a marker of familiar nouns. As noted above, very few verbs appear with the r-suffix. In some cases, the forms with and without -r (which may also show a tonal shift) have distinct though relatable meanings 214